Postpartum Cultural Traditions; The Doulas Role in Cultural Safety

Robin Lim Filipina~American~Micronesian grandmother midwife, Doula, and founder of Bumi Sehat NGO which maintains clinics in Indonesia and the Philippines.

I am blessed to kneel at the feet of birthing women, the StarGate between Earth and the Land of Souls.  Every 11 seconds a pregnant woman or newborn dies somewhere on Earth. 800 mothers and 7,000 babies die each day. Most of these lives are lost due to preventable or treatable causes. Solutions include; humanizing protocols and practices for birth and postpartum care, eradicating disparities in food security and making skilled midwives and trained doulas available to every MotherBaby.

Honors: 2006 Alexander Langer Foundation, 2011 CNN Hero of the Year. 2012 APPPAH BirthKeeper award, Ashoka Fellow.
Books: After the Baby’s Birth, Wellness for Mothers, Ecology of Gentle Birth, Awakening Birth, Eating for Two... Recipes for Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women, Placenta the Forgotten Chakra, Eat Pray Doula, The Geometry of Splitting Souls, Natural Family Planning Workbook, Butterfly People, 6 health booklets in Bahasa Indonesia.

Lim's passion is culturally safety, respect, and Human Rights in Childbirth, and healthcare as a human right. My circle of support has been the astonishing Bumi Sehat team, plus my husband, Wil, and eight amazing grown and growing children (ages 46 to 16), I have six grandchildren, born gently into my hands.

www.bumisehatfoundation.org www.iburobin.org

Debra Pascali-Bonaro LCCE, AdvCD/BDT/PDT(DONA) is an inspirational international speaker, author, podcast host and filmmaker, Director of the award-winning documentary Orgasmic Birth: The Best-Kept Secret  and co-writer of “Orgasmic Birth: Your Guide to a Safe, Satisfying and Pleasurable Birth” all of which  explore the intimate and sacred sexual nature of birth.  Chair of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Organization, Co-Chair for the International Childbirth Initiative,  Debra’s passion comes from her years as a  Lamaze International childbirth educator, and birth and postpartum doula trainer with DONA International .  She has taught and worked with parents, physicians, midwives, nurses, doulas, and students in over 40 countries.  Debra is a featured expert in parenting journals and media around the world.